Sara Baartman

In contrast to other stories
told in this exhibition, that of Sara (Saartjie) Baartman's time
in London in 1810 is as horrifying to modern sensibilities as
it was to some of her contemporaries. Baartman (1789-1815) was
a Khoisan who was brought over from South Africa to be put on
public display in Piccadilly under the title of the 'Hottentot
Venus' because of what was described as 'the enormous size of
her posterior parts'. This also made her the focus of ribaldry,
and the subject of many caricature prints. Anti-slavery campaigners
challenged her exhibition in court on the grounds that she was
'exhibited for money
against
her consent'. She, however, insisted during court proceedings
that she was willing to be displayed and that she had signed
a contract.

She appears to have toured the
country and was recorded as having visited Manchester. In 1814,
Baartman went to Paris where she was displayed and also became
the subject of caricatures. She also attracted the attention
of Georges Cuvier, the anatomist famous for comparing racial
types, who was interested in her as a supposed example of the
most primitive form of humanity.

Baartman was studied intensively
by anatomists and artists and, following her death at the age
of 27 in December 1815, she was dissected by Cuvier. Parts of
her anatomy were displayed in what was to become the Musée
de l'Homme in Paris and remained on show until the 1960s. Her
remains were finally returned for burial to South Africa in 2002.